Family Sues Tropicana AC After 2023 Crash Kills 8-Year-Old Boy

This past Friday, the family of an 8-year-old boy who was killed in a drunk driving crash in 2023 filed a lawsuit against Tropicana Atlantic City, New Jersey, citing the location “destroyed or concealed” evidence that would show that the Caesars Entertainment-operated location was partly responsible for what happened. 

In other Tropicana Casino AC news, five teenage boys were arrested for armed robbery at the casno in August 2024. 

What About the Case

In July 2023, 8-year-old Javier Velez was asleep in the backseat of his family’s car during a fishing trip. While asleep, 25-year-old Edward Johnston struck the car, going 107 miles per hour in a 50 miles per hour zone, next to the White Horse Pike in Absecon. 

Last month, Johnston was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter. 

In this lawsuit, the family is alleging that Johnston was served alcohol even though he was visibly intoxicated. Some of those locations accused are Ducktown Tavern and Boogie Nights. These are both located inside the casino. It was said he had at least 10 drinks, including six Red Bull and vodkas. 

This lawsuit comes from the family under the Dram Shop Act, which is a law that can hold places like bars and restaurants liable for harm caused by customers who oversold alcohol. 

As mentioned, the lawsuit claims evidence was “destroyed or concealed.” This includes surveillance footage and debit card receipts. Specifically, the suit mentions Brian Barnett, Tropicana’s director of security, who allegedly didn’t preserve footage and attempted to hide and perhaps destroy evidence during the course of an investigation of the security office. 

Family Lawyer Speaks Out

Upon filing the suit, the family’s lawyer, Michael T. van der Veen, held a news conference. 

"We allege in the complaint that the drunk driver was served more than twice the legal limit while at Boogie Nights," said attorney Michael T. van der Veen during a news conference on the Atlantic City boardwalk on Friday. "We allege that the bartenders who served some of those drinks and some of those bartenders we allege were not certified at the time for the safe service of alcohol."

The lawyer also mentioned that he believed the employees weren’t counting the drinks they were serving and that there were "crucial deficiencies in the timeline video" Tropicana produced. 

"We allege that there's an hour and a half of video missing in total and more importantly service of some of the alcohol," said van der Veen.

The lawsuit demands compensatory and punitive damages along with a jury trial.